Western forest diseases and climate relations: General considerations, dwarf mistletoe and stem rusts

Abstract

This is a preliminary, draft outline for organizing information on the relation of climate to western forest diseases. The question is how to assess the threat of these diseases under a regime of climate change. Although forest diseases are often important, assessment of disease-climate relations is a challenging problem due to the multiple values at risk and the complexity of these systems. Several approaches are described and illustrated with examples for mistletoes and stem rust. Only a sampling of examples is given to illustrate a variety of concepts; many additional examples are to be found in the literature. Knowledge gaps are identified.

Citation

Geils, B. W. 2008. Western forest diseases and climate relations: General considerations, dwarf mistletoe and stem rusts. In: McWilliams, Michael; Palacios, Patsy, comps. Proceedings of the 55th Annual Western International Forest Disease Work Conference; 2007 October 15-19; Sedona, AZ. Salem, OR: Oregon Department of Forestry. p. 19-24.